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Lineage, Birth and Death

Al-Mughira b. Shu'ba b. Abi 'Amir b. Mas'ud was a member of Thaqif tribe. Abu 'Isa or Abu 'Abd Allah was the Kunya of al-Mughira. He was born in the 2nd or the 3rd year after Bi'that/612 or 613 and he passed away in Kufa in 50/670. Al-Mughira was described as a clever man.

'Umar b. al-Khattab appointed him as the governor of Bahrain, but people refused to accept him and complained to 'Umar. Then he was dismissed and appointed as the governor of Basra. When some people attested that al-Mughira had committed adultery, 'Umar removed him and appointed him as the governor of Kufa. He is regarded amongst the first ones who called 'Umar b. al-Khattab, Amir al-Mu'minin. According to sources, Abu Lu' Lu' who killed 'Umar b. al-Khattab was the slave of al-Mughira.

When 'Uthman b. Affan came to power, he removed al-Mughira from Kufa after a year and sent him to Armenia and Azerbaijan as the ruler of the region.

Based on historical sources, al-Mughira was amongst the first ones who proposed the succession of Yazid b. Mu'awiya which took place in 56/676 however as Mughira passed away in 50/670, it cannot be right.

Opposition against 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a)

Al-Mughira is mentioned as an opponent of 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a); he also cursed Imam (a). When he was appointed as the governor of Kufa by Mu'awiya, he gave speeches in the Masjid al-Kufa in which he cursed Imam 'Ali (a) and Shi'a Muslims.

Once al-Mughira addressed Sa'sa'a b. Sawhan, a companion of Imam Ali (a) and an orator, saying : "Avoid fault-finding with 'Uthman. Avoid mentioning Ali's virtues. I know his virtues more than you. But the power is in the hands of this ruler [Mu'awiya] who will punish anyone who criticizes 'Uthman."

References

The material for writing this article has been mainly taken from مغيرة بن شعبة in Farsi WikiShia.